Maid's Love
by Fast Talking Dolphin
Summary: AU Perhaps this wasn't such a great idea...working at a maid cafe, I mean...IkutoxAmu, NagihikoxRima // Amuto, Rimahiko


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M A I D ' S L O V E

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**F u l l S u m m a r y :**

A couple of teenage girls are desperate for money, and so, they joined a cosplay cafe! But when some unexpected company drops by...well...who do _you_ think it is? Well, of course, it just _has_ to be some special boys.

**C o u p l e s :**

IkutoxAmu / / Amuto

NagihikoxRima / / Rimahiko

**Hints:**

YoruxMiki / / Miru

KisekixRan / / Riseki

DaichixTemari / / Temaichi

MusashixSu / / Musasu

KukaixOC

**A u t h o r ' s N o t e s :**

I wanted to post something very badly, so here it is! Inspired by Aeneid's _Maid Cafe_.

This'll just be a small mini-fic. Probably 3-4 chapters.

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**C H A P T E R O N E : S U R P R I S E !**

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_/ / The Girls / / _

"Su-chan, is my apron on straight?"

"Hai Ran-chan. Well, how do we look desu?"

"Can we hurry this up?! This is embarrassing!"

They had been working at the cafe for two weeks now, and despite that, it was still humiliating to wear the frilly cafe uniform. This was no ordinary can-I-have-a-latte, sit-down-and-chat cafe. No, this was a _cosplay_ cafe, a maid cafe to be precise. They, like any normal teenage girls, were in need of some money.

"Amu, if you don't hold still, we'll have to keep standing around like a bunch of idiots."

Amu sighed before nodding and leaning against the screen. "Hai hai Rima."

Well, maybe not Rima, but she was persistent on not being left out, even if she thought that this cafe was "childish" and "a waste of money". Both she and her best friend (besides Hinamori Amu) Warai Kusu-Kusu had applied as well. There were only three or four slots open, but the instant Rima's fanboys and Amu's fans _and_ fanboys stormed into the cafe and started ordering, the manager quickly handed them uniforms. Well, more like shoved and demanded they start at that moment. It was a _rough_ first day. Crowd after crowd kept coming, and they all requested either one of our lovely young ladies.

_Snap!_

"Arigato!" cried the boy--no doubt a student at Seiyo High School--who had eaten at the cafe and then taken their picture.

Before the girls could give their customary answer, the assistant manager ran up to them, giving a curt nod to the boy before addressing them. "Girls, you have customers up front."

"Yay customers!" shouted Kusu-Kusu happily. She was always one for jubilant shouting, and was a favorite among the males. They all loved her bright personality and jokes, especially how well she could perform the "Bala-Bala-Balance" gag (and when done with Rima, caused quite a few nosebleeds at their "moe-ness").

Amu nodded, giving a small smile before looking down at her apparel. It consisted of a black layered dress, in a petticoat-style, with a poofy skirt and black knee-high socks and Mary-Jane shoes. All of which was in a Lolita-like style. And the cool thing was, instead of the casual white apron, you could choose your color. The same went for the dress--in parts where the dress would normally be white, it could be any color. Hers, predictably, was pink, Ran's was too, Miki blue, and Su green. Rima was wearing a black-red combination and Kusu-Kusu a black-rainbow. No seriously; she looked like a walking rainbow. Of course, she liked it that way."Okay then. Kusu-Kusu, Rima, you go up front. The rest of us will get ready."

"Oh no no." corrected the assistant manager, straightening a part of her uniform before continuing. "This is a _large_ group. We'll need all _six _of you." Just as she finished her instructions, a bell rang crisply through the air. Customers were waiting to pay. "Better go! Remember, smiles!" With a wave, she disappeared behind the corner.

"A large..."

"...group desu?"

Everyone stared blankly at each other before sighing. There was a 99.99 percent chance that it was a _giant_ group of Rima's fanboys (what could she say? she had lots of them).

Amu fluffed her already-fluffy collar. "Well, we'd better go greet our _goshujin-sama_."

_/ / The Boys / / _

"...crap..."

Just his luck. Just his freakin', road-kill, Hercules-bad luck.

"C'mon, Ikuto, nyaa! Go inside!"

Of all the days he had to lose a bet to Yoru...

"Aren't you going to go inside?"

"...no..." With that, he turned around and started to walk away from the small establishment.

"_You_ lost the bet so _you _have to pay!"

No way was he going to squander his money on some stupid cafe on all _nine_ of them. Just because he had a higher paying job than them didn't mean that he was going to treat them to some overpriced lunch. "I said no Yoru." He glared at the rest of the boys. "You guy can pay for yourselves can't you?"

Kukai laughed, before elbowing Yoru. "Forget him Yoru. C'mon, let's get inside. I hear the Vanilla Cream Maid Cafe has great cake."

Tadase nodded. "I agree. We'll see you later Ikuto."

"Yeah yeah..."

"Come my servants!" Kiseki exclaimed, leading the pack to the cafe's entrance.

Ikuto watched them leave, before setting his eyes on the cafe. What was so spe--wait, was that...pink hair? He advanced a step, keeping an eye on the pink speck. No way...there was no way that _she_ would be in there...

_"Okaeri nasaimase, goshujin-sama!" _rang a chorus of voices.

Ikuto was close enough to hear them, and his friends' return of the greeting with the typical _"Tadaima!"_. There was no doubt in his mind...

Hinamori Amu was in there.

_/ / Cafe / /_

The inside of the cafe was light and airy. True to its name, Vanilla Cream, the walls were painted in a cream hue, with windows all around. Light filtered through, making the cafe require little electrical lighting (at least in the afternoon). Beautiful scenery paintings filled the walls, as well as photos of smoothies, cakes and other dishes served within the café. The Vanilla Cream Maid Café (abbreviated VCMC most of the time) was part of a string of maid cafes, entitled the "Sugar Sweet Maid Cafes". Each featured names such as Chocolate Chip, Vanilla Cream, Butterscotch, etc., and the insides were decorated as such. They not only specializes in pastries and sweets, but were a popular chain of hangouts.

The cafe was divided into two sections. The first "outer" section were tables of four and two evenly distributed throughout the area. The second "inner" sections were for parties of five or more. Each table was divided by screens made with washi paper, like in a traditional Japanese homes, and were called "private rooms", even though they weren't really rooms.

"What're you guys doing here?!" whispered Amu, horrified, as she, Miki, Su and Rima (after the greeting, Kusu-Kusu and Ran went to go help deliver food and collect orders) led the boys to their table. The boys made themselves comfortable in the luxuriously spacious "room".

"Enjoying the food of course." replied Kukai as if he was saying "the sky is blue". "And the restaurant itself. The service here looks _great_."

"K-Kukai!"

He chuckled good-naturedly. "I'm just playing, you know that."

Nagihiko nodded. "Although it's true. You ladies look lovely."

Blush crept on all four girls' faces, minus Su, who merely answered with an _"Doumo arigato gozaimasu goshujin-sama!"_.

"B-Be quiet..." muttered Rima, glaring to the side before shoving the menus into their hands."What do you want?"

Amu gave her blonde friend a mini-glare. "Rima, remember the _keigo_."

"Oh it's fine Amu-chan." interjected Nagihiko. "She's still cute without them, right _Meido-chan_?"

The blush deepened, but instead of flustering, Rima tightened her hand. She seriously looked like she was going to punch a hole in the screen. Amu even took a few steps back. _"Shitsurei shimasu, goshujin-sama." _Her lips seemed permanently etched into a scowl, despite her "apology". "What would you like to order?"

The boys quickly rambled off their orders, except for Yoru who had a hard time deciding between the fish fillet and the sushi. In the end, he got both...and a large Mint Coffee.

Curtly spinning around, Rima began to head towards the kitchen before a strawberry-haired girl's voice stopped her.

_"Rima..."_

"..."

_"Say it._"

Grimace still clearly on her face, she muttered a barely audible _"Kashikomarimashita" _before disappearing behind the screen.

Amu laughed nervously. _'That went well…Didn't she know that Nagihiko was just being nice?'_

_"K-Kashikomarimashita!" _stuttered the black-and-blue maid, bowing and excusing herself. "Su-chan will be right with you." With that, she hastily made her exit. Was that blush on her face?

Su? The black-and-pink waitress glanced around the room, but the green-loving girl was nowhere to be seen. Which meant she was the only one in the room. With eight boys. And even though these were her friends, she could just imagine her father blowing up.

"So…_ano_…where's Ikuto?" Amu had noticed that Yoru was alone this time, his roommate not in sight.

"He didn't want to come." Tadase answered abruptly.

"Oh." Her shoulders sagged slightly. Amu didn't know why, but she suddenly felt like all her energy had been sapped out. Okay, yes, maybe she had wanted him to come...just a bit...but seriously, it shouldn't have drained her of her energy.

"…Aaamuuu…"

"Aah!" The view suddenly shifted upwards ad the scared Amu found herself looking at the tops of her male friends' heads. Apparently, she had latched herself onto some pole…a walking, navy-blue pole…

And then…the pole laughed! "You're such a scaredy-cat." This was no pole! It was Ikuto! He used his other arm to cover his face, although his chuckling was quite clear.

"I am not!"

"Then why are you still holding my arm?"

She released her grip as quickly as she had clamped on, muttering a flustered apology. Amu then turned to the seated group, bowing her head. "_S-Sumimasen_." Although these were her friends, she could still feel the red hot blush on her face. How embarrassing!

She hurried towards the entrance, eager to get away. Unfortunately, Ikuto wasn't in on the plan. That, or he loved torturing her. Based on their years of knowing each other, from the pranks to teasing, she was pretty sure it was the second.

Ikuto had a smirk playing at his lips as he grabbed her arm and yanked her closer to him. Ignoring her glare, he bent down towards her ear.

"You know you liked what you felt."

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't give him the satisfaction of a (cute) blush. Instead, Amu wrestled out of his hands, meeting his eyes with a defiant glare. "Baka—" She suddenly stepped, before sighing and putting on a somewhat forced smile. "G-Gomen nasai _goshujin-sama_. Please have a seat." Amu bowed her head before darting out of the room, this time unhindered.

Ikuto blinked. And blinked. Of course, he would've gone on blinking, but Tsukiyomi Ikuto didn't do that.

'_What just happened? First she's calls me a baka, and then she suddenly changes her mind and—'_

"Hey Ikuto! Aren't ya going to sit down?" called Kukai, who then scooted over to make room.

The adult said nothing, taking a seat beside the sporty boy, but his mind was still on the pink-haired girl he loved to harass. So his suspicions were right; she was here. But not just here, she _worked_ here. With all the frilly dresses, bright smiles, fattening cakes and hormonal teenage boys who came to the maid café. Not only that, but she had to act the part. And while it didn't seem like the "cool-and-spicy" girl could play the part of a "moe" maid, it was quite surprising how her attempts turned out. Hinamori Amu had made a near-perfect transition from seemingly rebellious girl to cute, perky maid.

He smiled inwardly.

This was going to be _fun._

_/ / Rima / /_

Disgruntled, she stomped into the kitchen, stuffed a handful of orders into the assistant's hands and stomped right back out.

In the background, she could hear a waitress and a chef whispering to each other:

"Mashiro-san's acting more spoiled then before."

"Probably got more fanboys coming. She's so lucky, but she doesn't have to act like a princess."

Did they honestly think that she _liked_ having her "slaves" coming in and ogling her during work?! Years ago, she wouldn't even have been here, and if forced, she probably would have just relaxed and let the fanboys come and serve her. But this was a new Mashiro Rima. Although she still lounged around, she did understand the meaning of working hard. Which meant focusing on working would be nice. And screaming fanboys with cameras did _not_ help.

'_Stupid pansy…saying things like that like it's normal…'_

Neither did effeminate boys by the name of Fujisaki Nagihiko complimenting her in the same manner he would inquire about the weather. Rima was used to getting things like that; things like "Rima-sama, you look so beautiful today!" and "Rima-sama, you shine brighter than the sun!" and other cheesy things like that. But those boys were in "lovey-dovey" mode, whereas that Fujisaki boy was relaxed and calm. None of the other boys had said anything at all, as if this was "typical" behavior! Absolutely absurd!

"Rima-chan, daijoubu?"

"Hai," She answered curtly, glowering at the dark-haired girl in front of her. "Private Room 3 needs drinks while they wait. Hurry up Taikai." The girl speaking with her was Yakusoku Taikai, a "maid" was well. She was wearing a similar outfit to Miki, with a black-and-blue theme, but the blue was lighter, a teal almost. "And get Temari on it too. It's a big party."

"Ne ne, I heard from Tsukiyomi-kun. It's our friends, right? Yoru, Tadase, Kiseki, Kairi, Musashi, Kukai, Daichi and Nagihiko right? "

"Tsukiyomi? You mean that guy that Yoru lives with?"

"Hai!" Taikai answered perkily, nearly tripping over a box of veggies as she stepped backwards to grab glasses of water to put on her tray. "He came late and I led him to Su-chan, who took him to their room." She stacked seven glasses onto her tray, five filled with water and two empty ones for soda. "Temari-chan! Why don't you ask Rima-chan to help you with your apron?"

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!"

Laughing nervously, Taikai looked at Rima with a queer look. "You sure you okay, nyaa? Your face is flushed."

"I'm fine." The blonde snapped, shoving a tray of glasses into Temari's hands. "Now hurry up and go serve them!"

"Hai hai, Rima-hime." Taikai stated, using her special nickname for Rima, before walking out the kitchen door with the normally violent Temari (Luckily, Temari cooled down a bit on the job).

Breathing a sigh of relief, Rima ran quickly to the bathroom, peering at her reflection in the mirror. The crazy otaku-maid didn't lie; her face was bright red. What was wrong with her? Back when Taikai was asking about their friends, Rima remembered thinking about that stupid boy the minute she (Taikai) said his name. All those stupid compliments…was that what turned her face red?! No, impossible. There was no way that boy would get to her. She'd made sure of that. Still, that didn't answer the question in her mind.

'_What's…what's going on?!'_

_/ / The Boys / /_

Laughter was coming from their room, loud, jubilant laughter. Over what, you may ask?

"Wow Fujisaki; you've fallen for her alright. What was that? Two compliments within 30 seconds?"

Another wave of chuckles commenced.

Nagihiko merely smiled warmly, before looking over at the older boy at the end of the seat. "Ikuto, I thought you weren't coming with us."

"Changed my mind." He stated.

"More like wanted to see a certain pink-haired girl." muttered Yoru.

Ikuto glared over at Yoru. "What was that?"

Kukai chuckled good-naturedly. "Don't worry Ikuto; Kiseki seemed to be staring at a pink maid too, a very hyperactive one."

"What did you say, you commoner?!"

Kairi, probably the only civil one in the group, finally decided to speak up. "Please, everyone. This is a restaurant. Let us allow the other customers to eat in peace."

Musashi nodded. "I agree. We should not disturb others with our rather interesting—" Before he could finish, he felt a hand ruffle the top of his head, messing up his hair, which had been put nicely into a ponytail (**A/N: **samurai style of course).

"Let's not forget out little 'Musu-kun'! Did you _see_ the way he was looking at Su?"

Musashi glowered, but the evil look was lost in the pink on his face. He then muttered something that sounded a lot like "May the Kami-sama above punish you".

Tadase cleared his throat, looking the athletic boy in the air. "Kukai, please stop. That's enough."

He sighed, slouching back into the cushiony seat. "Aww. But I had a really good one on Yoru and a pretty blue—"

"Nyaa, I wasn't staring at Miki!"

Everyone stared at the boy, before sighing. It looked like Kukai didn't even have to do a thing.

'_Kukai sure has a knack for messing with people.'_ Daichi thought to himself.

"Anyway, back to Nagihiko," Kukai nodded in the said-boy's direction. "What are you going to do about you? Rima's used to this kind of treatment. How're you going to battle hordes of fans?"

Everyone tuned in, even Kiseki, although he didn't show it. They were interested in Nagihiko's "battle strategy". Would he just walk up and ask her out? Or would he slowly work towards it?

"I don't have one."

The table shook violently as _everyone's_ heads hit the surface.

"You're well-prepared, I see." Ikuto, as being having recovered first, was the first to comment sarcastically.

"I'll be fine." Nagihiko reassured, although he wasn't too sure himself. He had liked Rima for while, and had hinted at it a couple times, but she hadn't responded at all. "I'll just go with the flow. In the meantime…" He cast a devious smile in Kukai's direction, a mischievous twinkle in his golden eyes. "Kukai, we must stop this bad habit at once."

"Eh…bad habit?" repeated Kukai, confused. Then his eyes narrowed, staring at the boy suspiciously. "What bad habit?" He asked cautiously.

Indeed, what bad habit was Nagihiko speaking of? The boys tuned in once again.

"Speak slave!" commanded Kiseki, obviously wanting to know. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's…a pervert."

Jaws dropped. Eyes widened. Stares directed themselves towards Kukai. And laughs broke out like the plague.

Kukai stared, bewildered, at Nagihiko. "Am not! What the h—"

" 'The service here looks great.' And to our friends as well." chided Nagihiko, shaking his head in mock-disappointment for added effect. "Coming into a maid café just to look at the waitresses. Tsk tsk Kukai."

"I haven't even—"

"_Shitsurei shimasu, goshujin-sama!"_

Then entered the two waitresses, each with a platter of drinks. "_Gomen nasai_." apologized Taikai, bowing respectfully to her "masters". "Please, have some water while you wait." Nodding towards Temari, she began to pass out the cups of water. Temari followed suit.

"Kusu-Kusu-chan will be here momentarily to entertain you while you wait for your meal. Will there be anything else?" Temari asked.

"_Sumimasen_," spoke Ikuto, motioning towards the nearest maid, which happened to be Taikai. "I have a quick question."

"Just a second." Taikai answered, placing a cup in front of Tadase before walking over. He then proceeded to whisper his inquiry into her ear. "Hai! Would you like to do so?"

Ikuto nodded, a coy smile on his face.

"In that case, I'll get Su-chan right on it. Will there be anything else?"

No one responded, giving the girls their answer.

"_Sumimasen_. If there's anything else you would like, please feel free to talk to one of us."

The moment the girls left, Nagihiko addressed the "situation" at hand. Taking a sip of his water, he continued, "You were saying Kukai?"

Silence.

Ikuto stifled a laugh, poking the boy. "He's frozen stiff." The boy had a wide-eyed look of astonishment on his face, and hadn't even touched his water. Daichi had frozen in place as well.

"And he said that _I_ stared." Yoru mumbled to himself.

_/ / Amu / /_

Sighing exasperatedly, Amu slumped into a chair in the back. It wasn't even closing time yet and she was tired. She had been helping a group for so long. They kept changing their orders on her, and she was pretty sure they were doing that just so they could all get a go at taking pictures with her. 'I suppose Rima has it worse though.' Often times, fans would pay extra for her, and she would spend the duration of their time listening to their "pathetic excuse for attempts at trying to attract the opposite sex" (Rima's words).

The manager had allowed her some resting time, after passing by the "show" and seeing how tired Amu looked. And while it was generous of her, Amu found it troubling. At least with those boys, she could keep her thoughts off of Ikuto. But now that there was nothing to occupy her time, she found herself thinking of their earlier encounter.

Honestly, walking up to her and scaring her like that! The nerve! Plus, if Su hadn't given her that glare and the reminder to be polite and "moe", she could have lost her job! Which was something Amu didn't want to happen. Curse her quick temper!

But honestly, Ikuto was so conflicting. There were times where he was sweet and caring, and then there were those dreaded times where he would tease and mock her. Couldn't he make up his mind? She sighed once again before her sun-mimicking eyes widened. Oh Kami-sama...why did she fall for someone like him…

It had come so quickly too. It started after her elementary-middle school crush on Tadase ended, when she found out that he liked her bubbly friend Ran.

And surprisingly, it had been_ Ikuto_ who had comforted the crying, pink-haired stranger. Well, not really stranger, since they knew each other names' and such, but he was a friend of a frenemy of a friend. Still too far to be of importance.

But, it had driven her near-insade. She found herself wishing that he noticed whatever hints she could manage to pull. She remembered all those doubting times, where she would brush off her feelings as mere infatuation. 'It's a simple infatuation. It'll wear out soon enough.' And yet, it _didn't_. Which not only had its stressful times of 'What if Ikuto's there' and 'Would Ikuto like this?', but also embarrassing herself in front of him.

'_But I won't give up!'_ She confined within herself. Now that she understood, Amu would work towards being able to talk without babbling like fool and would work on being herself, and most important, she would work on not humiliating—

"Amu-chan! Amu-chan, desu!"

Her reverie was broken by her friend's voice. "Coming Su!" She didn't need to walk far, as Su appeared in the doorway. "Su, is something wrong?"

"N-No." She panted, catching her breath before speaking. "The manager sent me. Someone's paid extra just for you."

It didn't surprise her much; it was customary for this in their café. Still, _she_ had been requested, the shock appearing in her eyes. "Do you know who paid extra?"

Su nodded, taking some more breaths before continuing.

"It's Ikuto."

Her eyes widened at the name, and her blood ran cold in that second.

'_This is going to be a looong day.'_

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**N o t e s :**

_"Okaeri nasaimase goshujin-sama" _- "_Okaeri nasaimase"_ comes from the Japanese phrase for "I'm home". In this sentence, it means "Welcome home". "_Goshujin-sama_" means "master", and in some cases, "husband". But in this story, it retains the first meaning.

_"Tadaima"_ - "I'm home". It's a standard greeting, and is also used by those entering maid cafes.

_"Kashikomarimashita" _- "I got it!" It is used by waiters/waitresses when they get orders from customers.

_"Meido-chan_" - "Maid-chan"

_"__Shitsurei shimasu" _- "Excuse me", but in the sense of "pardon me"

_"Keigo"_ - "_Keigo"_ is very formal Japanese speech. For example, instead of "Arigato goshujin-sama", they would say "Doumo arigato gozaimasu goshujin-sama".

Well, I hope you liked that! I had lots of fun researching maid cafes, and torturing our poor Amu-chan as well. Gomen about that Amu-chan!


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